Study of Effective Screening of FPSO (Fire and Explosion Assessment) On Oil and Gas Using Comparison Tool

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ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

I would take this opportunity to thank my research supervisor, family and friends for their support and guidance without which this research would not have been possible.

DECLARATION

I, [type your full first names and surname here], declare that the contents of this dissertation/thesis represent my own unaided work, and that the dissertation/thesis has not previously been submitted for academic examination towards any qualification. Furthermore, it represents my own opinions and not necessarily those of the University.

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ABSTRACT

Fires and explosions have been identified as major potential hazards for Oil and Gas Floating Production Storage Offloading (FPSO) installations and pose risk to personnel, assets, and the environment. Current fire and explosion assessment (FEA) tools require physical effect modeling software and follows standards from API, ISO, and engineering practices. However, the tools are not specific to any particular system such as an FPSO, and do not provide comprehensive guidance for safety engineers to perform FEA.

This paper discusses the development of a screening and comparison tool for FEA on FPSOs and the incorporation of an expert system into the tool. The results are computerized using MS Excel/VBA to provide a structured and comprehensive assessment on each equipment and module handling natural gas, crude oil, methanol and diesel on FPSO topsides.

This tool features built-in calculations for jet and pool fire size estimation for gas/liquid releases, and the ability to perform Quantitative Risk Analysis (QRA) to specify the personnel and equipment risk for varying leak sizes and process conditions. Control and recovery measures are incorporated as an expert system based on report findings, engineering practices, and relevant standards. Bowtie analysis is applied in the tool to define detailed control and recovery measures for the FPSO based on the incident scenarios. An explosion assessment is performed by incorporating physical effect modeling software results.

Unique features provided in the tool include fire and radiation contour mapping on an FPSO layout to help determine personnel and equipment risk more accurately and fire pump sizing that can be used to verify the amount of water deluge system required to mitigate fires and explosions. In addition, flexibility of data input (process data, failure rate data, etc.) and user interfaces assist safety engineers to screen and compare process alternatives, check design quality, and evaluate design options at any design stage.

Table of Contents

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTII

DECLARATIONIII

ABSTRACTIV

CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION1

1.1 BACKGROUND1

1.2 AIMS AND OBJECTIVES2

1.3 SCOPE OF THE RESEARCH2

1.4 LIMITATIONS4

1.5 PROPOSED FRAMEWORK4

CHAPTER 2: LITERATURE REVIEW8

2.1 Captivation of expertise to help perform fire and explosion assessment and providing control and recovery measures solutions15

2.2 Gas turbines specifically tailored for FPSOs15

2.3 Numerical And Rule Base Design17

2.4 Direct Calculation And Comparison Approaches17

2.5 Fpso Dimensions18

2.6 Risk Assessment of FPSOs19

2.7 Relevant Literature23

CHAPTER 3: METHODOLOGY31

3.1 Physical effect modeling (PEM)31

3.2 Risk estimation32

3.3. Water deluge system requirement34

3.4. Fire mapping35

3.5. Control and recovery measures35

CHAPTER 4: RESULTS37

4.1 Fire39

4.2. Explosion44

4.3. Control and recovery measures and water deluge system and pump sizing45

CHAPTER 5: DISCUSSION & CONCLUSION52

5.1 Result presentations52

5.2 Discretization54

5.3 Boundary Integral ...